Singapore and International Trade Law
Here’s a thing about international trade that most people don’t think about. Every country has its own laws. When you buy something from a company in another country, which country’s laws apply? What happens if there’s a dispute? Who decides?
This is part of my retelling of “50 Years of Singapore and the United Nations” (Tommy Koh, Li Lin Chang, Joanna Koh, 2015, ISBN: 978-9814713030).
Chapter 23 is written by Jeffrey Chan Wah Teck, a Deputy Solicitor-General at Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers. He’s basically the guy who sat in the rooms where international trade law was written. He chaired UNCITRAL itself, chaired its Working Group on Electronic Commerce, and was still chairing the Working Group on Online Dispute Resolution when this book was published. So yeah, he knows this stuff inside and out.
The Problem With Different Laws
Think about it this way. You’re a company in Singapore. You want to sell electronics to a buyer in Germany. Singapore has its own contract laws. Germany has different ones. If something goes wrong with the deal, which laws apply? What are your rights? What are theirs?
This uncertainty costs money. Businesses have to hire lawyers in multiple countries just to figure out what the rules are. And sometimes, the rules in one country completely contradict the rules in another. That makes international trade harder and more expensive. For a country like Singapore, where the entire economy depends on trade, this is a big deal.
People have been trying to solve this problem for over a century. The Hague Conference on Private International Law started working on it back in 1893. UNIDROIT, another agency, was set up in 1926 under the League of Nations. But both organizations had a problem. They were mostly European. The members were from Europe and the Americas. Developing countries in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere had very little say in how international trade rules were written.
Enter UNCITRAL
In 1966, the UN General Assembly created the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, or UNCITRAL. The idea was simple but important. The existing organizations that worked on trade law were too Euro-centric. Developing countries needed a voice. If you want trade rules that work for everyone, everyone needs to be at the table.
UNCITRAL became the core legal body of the UN system for international trade law. Its job is to harmonize and modernize trade laws across countries. Basically, make the rules more similar so that trading across borders gets easier and cheaper.
The way it works is practical. UNCITRAL creates model laws, treaties, and guides. Working Groups draft these texts, the full Commission reviews them at yearly meetings, and then the UN General Assembly endorses them.
Some of UNCITRAL’s big accomplishments include the 1980 Convention on International Sales of Goods, the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, the Hamburg Rules for shipping, and several model laws on electronic commerce and electronic signatures.
Membership grew from the original 29 states to 60. Members are elected for six-year terms, with seats divided among regional groups. Getting on UNCITRAL is competitive because the work matters.
Singapore Gets Involved
Singapore joined the UN in 1965. Tiny country. Brand new. Almost no international presence. But Singapore was already a major trading hub with 700 years of trading history. International trade law wasn’t some abstract topic for Singapore. It was survival.
Professor Tommy Koh, who was Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the UN, suggested to Attorney-General Tan Boon Teik that Singapore should seek membership in UNCITRAL. The AG agreed. Singapore was elected as a member in 1973.
And once Singapore got in, they didn’t just sit there. Jeffrey Chan explains that Singapore’s delegates take their work seriously. They prepare thoroughly. They consult widely. They don’t just show up and read country reports like many delegations do. They actually participate in open discussions, contribute ideas, and challenge arguments from other countries.
Punching Above Their Weight
The results speak for themselves. Despite being a small country with a limited talent pool, Singapore produced three UNCITRAL Chairmen since 1973. That’s a remarkable number for any country, let alone one of the smallest in the world.
Justice Warren Khoo chaired the diplomatic conference that adopted the huge Convention on International Sales of Goods in 1980. Goh Phai Cheng chaired UNCITRAL in 1995. And Jeffrey Chan himself chaired it in 2000. He also chaired the Working Group on Electronic Commerce that created the 2005 Electronic Communications Convention.
Singapore didn’t just participate in writing the rules. They adopted them at home too. Singapore enacted UNCITRAL’s Model Law on Arbitration into domestic law. Same with the Model Law on Electronic Commerce and Electronic Signatures. The Singapore International Arbitration Centre based its rules largely on UNCITRAL’s Arbitration Rules. And Singapore was the first country in the world to ratify the 2005 Electronic Communications Convention.
The Regional Centre That Almost Was
When UNCITRAL decided to set up regional centres around the world, Singapore was a top choice for the Asia-Pacific centre. The Ministry of Law and the Economic Development Board worked with UNCITRAL’s Vienna office to make it happen.
But South Korea came in with a very generous financial offer. So the UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific ended up in Incheon, South Korea. You can’t win them all.
Why This Matters for a Small Country
Jeffrey Chan ends the chapter with something that goes beyond trade law. He makes the case that Singapore’s active participation in UNCITRAL is about more than just trade. It’s about visibility and relevance.
Singapore is a small country that can be easily pushed around by larger powers. Staying visible, staying relevant, being useful to the international community, these things contribute to national security. When other countries see Singapore as a valuable partner, they’re less likely to ignore Singapore’s interests.
The respect Singapore earned in UNCITRAL forums is proof that size doesn’t determine influence. Preparation does. Expertise does. Showing up and doing the work does.
And there’s one more thing. Jeffrey Chan says this kind of international standing is a source of pride for Singaporeans. It helps build a national identity. Knowing your country is respected on the world stage, even in something as specialized as trade law, matters.
About the Author
Jeffrey Chan Wah Teck is a Deputy Solicitor-General at Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers. He graduated from the University of Singapore on a President’s Scholarship as the Gold Medallist of his class in 1973. His career included serving as a DPP, State Counsel, Magistrate, and head of both the Civil and International Affairs Divisions. He was Singapore’s Chief Negotiator for the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters with Indonesia and a member of the ASEAN High Level Legal Experts Group. He chaired UNCITRAL and its Working Group on Electronic Commerce, and continues to chair the Working Group on Online Dispute Resolution.
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